Devil's Chance
by Punisher's Apprentice
Summary: Death has come to the Isle of the Lost. How will Auradon adjust to the response?
1. Rescue

When a figure appeared from the shadows, everything at the ball stopped. The four VKs instantly recognized the teen wearing all black with a red shirt, Chance di Diablo, son of Hades. "Be careful of shadows," he said his catchphrase with a devil-may-care smirk.

The four VKs were soon in front of him. Concerned Evie asked "Chance, what are you doing here?"

Jay asked the practical question "How are you here?"

Chance answered Evie "Death has come to the Isle, it's affecting legacies now."

Before he could say more, he waved them back and doubled over to cough up black inky goop. The VKs understood how serious things were even as Chance commented "I thought I'd have more time, more than five minutes at least."

Straightening, he answered Jay "It's Athena not Hades who can have kids by wishing."

Hercules came over "You're a son of Hades." The villain kids immediately tensed.

Chance's legs gave out and Jay eased his fall to a sitting position, the Devil's Chance asked Mal "Do you know your mother's curse? I need you to use a variation on me."

After a bit of arguing and Mal refusing, Evie said "I'll do it," looking at the black flame in Chance's hand.

Chance pulled back his outstretched hand which set off another coughing fit, this time coming up more blood than black. Chance explained "You can't. It'd kill you and your magic wouldn't work on me, your mother's a succubus and mine's the king of Hell."

Fairy Godmother came over and this time Chance tensed while the teens shifted with discomfort, unsure who to side with. Fairy Godmother smiled at the dark young man "I could do the spell."

"You're fully fae so your magic would work." Chance considered her "Touch this to get the variation, I'm going to slow down death so the rotten four," he smiled at the name as always, "can at least evacuate the legacies from the Isle." He turned to the four VKs "Take all legacies, infected, dead or neither." Focusing on Mal "You know what I'll need to wake up. Leave someone here with the sword to kill me before I can, y'know. The sword doesn't have any requirements to wield it." Fairy Godmother had touched the black flame so Chance laid down as she instructed "Carlos still scared of dogs?"

The four cracked up, Carlos accused "You knew? You always laughed at the name? You knew?"

"Course I did, I'm a genius." Chance flicked the wrist that had held the flame and this time Mal didn't have the option to refuse.

Fairy Godmother put him under and after a little writhing, he settled frozen in a death like sleep. Mal turned to her brothers and sister, "Who's gonna stay behind?"

Carlos immediately volunteered "I will. You'll need Jay and Evie to get the others, and only you can get what he needs to wake up."

Hercules moved to lift Chance and Jay shoved him away "You can't touch him you're Greek. He'd kill you without trying."

Ben came over "Then maybe you should take him to a room and lay him in a bed."

Mal shook her head "Red and black, the only colors he responds well to."

"What?"

"If it's not red or black, he might accidentally unleash his powers. Since the Isle limits magic,"

"Alright, so it's a safety thing."

A black sword floated in front of Mal, "You sure Carlos?"

Carlos took the sword "Yeah," it immediately shrank into a knife.

Hercules asked "What is that?" Instinctively, he backed away.

Jay answered "The god-killer sword used to be the only thing that could kill on the Isle. Chance made it so he kept the law, everyone respected him."

Evie explained "The only way to kill without it was to cut someone up and eat part of them so there wasn't enough to revive. The Hooks once did that to mark their turf, they fed body parts to fish." She took a deep breath "Chance always claimed there was a balance in death. He'd say that in war, armies balanced each other out. When he found out about the Hooks, he proved his sword's power by taking out the crew members that killed trespassers. He took the pristine bodies around the Isle and sold them, hair to the Tremaines for their wig making, the possessions on the bodies to merchants and parts of the bodies for potions."

Carlos finished "He bought food with almost all the money and gave it to the families of the people killed. He took whatever he wanted to sell from the bodies in front of whoever he was selling to, he did that for show. He proved the bodies were in pristine condition until the last sale to show he didn't have to dismember to kill. Everyone learned he was the law soon after that. Apparently it's called the god-killer because the sword could actually kill a god. There have always been rumors about who his mother is but no one knows for sure."

Mal said "We've wasted enough time explaining, Chance collapsed too quickly. We don't have much time." He told Ben "Be careful cleaning up that, could contain death magic." She held out her hand, Jay and Evie put theirs on top.

Carlos said "See you soon, hopefully," before they vanished off to the Isle. Shifting awkwardly, he turned to the party "Alright. Here's the deal. If I know anything, the youngest will fall victim first but you heard Chance, they need to get all of them off the Isle. I know you didn't even want us here but what's killing the kids on the Isle is the same thing Chance had." He looked around, locking on one royal "Queen Ella, Drisella's daughter Dizzy might be dead. She's not even a teen." The stress nearly made Carlos fall face first on the floor. Swaying a bit, he said "We, we can't do this alone."

As Prince Ben supported the shorter teen, King Adam said "You won't. Tell us what you need from us."

Carlos looked at him, ignoring everyone else "They'll need medical attention, everyone even if they don't look sick. Before that they'll need transportation. Uh, legacies as Chance calls us are the descendants of villains themselves, think two or three for every villain. Chance probably didn't care when henchmen started dying, he specified that all legacies come so two or three people per villain." He looked around "I know you didn't like it when my friends and I came here but I think Ben inspired Chance by inviting us, I think that's why he told my friends to get all legacies, to give us all a chance to be good. He always laughed when my friends and I said we were rotten to the core, when we were called the rotten four because he knew we weren't evil. You're gonna have to help us, to let people like us in. I'm not going to lie and say that we're all secretly good but if you don't give us a chance, everyone on the Isle dies. I spent my childhood as a slave to my mother, Jay could never steal anything good enough for Jafar, Dizzy will never be good enough for Queen Ella's stepmother or sisters. We never had a chance and all the kids on the Isle won't have a chance if you don't give it to them. I don't know how many people my friends can gather or how many will make it to Auradon but you might have to host the children of your villains. I refuse to be tricked into trading one living Hell for another, I need to know now if you can give them better."

Queen Leah sighed, gaining everyone's attention "I suppose you have a point. Maleficent doesn't have anymore children, does she?"

"I don't think so, Mal was the only one that I've ever met. So you're all willing to help?" Seeing nods all around invigorated Carlos, he said "We'll need a boat to wait in Ursula's Bay. Harry Hook, if he's still around, he'll keep the dock safe for this. He and Ursula's daughter Uma run things there. Every villain will probably be willing to give up their children for the same reason my mother and my friends' parents gave us up, a chance to get back at the heroes. Once Chance wakes up, he'll get everyone on your side of things. Though you might not like how he does, it'll give you all a chance to change them for the better. I think sooner would be better for making arrangements."

Carlos walked towards King Adam as everyone wandered off to make arrangements, Queen Leah stopped him "I'd like to volunteer to arrange the boat."

"Okay, make sure it has medical supplies and people trained to administer them. Seems like death is a disease. If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to King Adam about what to do with Chance while he can't go near anything Greek."

Queen Leah smiled "Of course."

Carlos decided to play it safe and mention "Most people think he's actually a young God, since he came to the Isle so long after Hades' banishment they think his mother must've conceived him without his father around but since all villain kids belong on the Isle, she couldn't keep him. It also explains how he was a few years old with a powerful sword the first time anyone saw him. Excuse me." He walked up to King Adam "Would you mind carrying Chance? I'm not sure what his powers could do to people since apparently Greeks are out of the question."

Adam started making his way over "Of course."

"Careful of the goop, I'm not sure what death magic is. Queen Leah volunteered to arrange a boat, I told her to stock it with medical supplies and medics. Mal was serious about the red or black room thing, colors like his clothes. I'm gonna try to organize the help."

Queen Belle said "I'll come with you."

"Okay." He went over to the Charmings "Queen Ella, King Kit, Prince Chad, I feel like I should tell you who I know you can expect since I'd like you to open a field hospital on your shores. If I'm not mistaken, your kingdom is closest to the Isle's Pirates' Bay where the legacies will probably be picked up."

Chad asked "Do I have any cousins?"

"Drisella's daughter Dizzy and Anastasia's son Anthony," answered Carlos "Anthony's older than me so he should be safer than Dizzy."

Queen Ella nodded "That's all we need to know. Two or three children per villain, right?"

"At least. Most villains only have one child, though some have two, but legacies are the descendants of villains not just their children. I guess what I meant by two or three each was that we're not taking half the Isle. If you're all set, I'd like to try to catch others before they leave to tell you all who I know will be coming that's relevant to each of you."

Carlos talked with each royal family, verifying what each kingdom was contributing before checking in with Fairy Godmother, who asked "Do you know what they're retrieving from the Isle to wake Chance?"

Carlos had been dodging the question, confirming he knew but nothing more than that "Yes. Chance's familiar, Excelsior. I don't know what Excelsior is, he has a human form that isn't his natural form. In human form, he looks a lot like Chance. He's got pale skin, black hair. He wears the same black clothes but on him it looks more like, I don't know, maybe it's his demeanor that affects that. Instead of a red shirt, he has a dirty white one. He's meek, especially compared to his master and that's what he calls Chance, master. Oh and he looks like an adult. I don't know what his natural form is, shapeshifting isn't easy behind a magic blocking barrier so I don't know how he's not always in his natural form."

"This is good information so no one gets the wrong idea."

"Excelsior was apparently bound to Chance at birth or something, Chance named him. Excuse me." Carlos left Belle and Fairy Godmother talking about what they'd need to do about Excelsior, Chance would need his familiar.

Carlos jogged to catch two people at the door "You're Anita and Roger, right?"

They stopped and smile, Roger answered "Yes."

"When this is over, no matter how it ends, the villains will be wiped out. Chance wants us to evacuate the legacies before he stops holding death back. By this time tomorrow, all of our parents will be dead. I'm sort of okay with that, I wasn't planning on ever facing my mother again. I just wanted to tell you that first, maybe you could help me tell the others."

Anita hugged him. Smiling, Roger asked Carlos "Are you afraid of dogs?"

Hugging Anita back, Carlos answered "Uh, no. I'm not ready for a hundred or anything yet, why?"

Roger said "We gave most of the pups up for adoption. Don't worry, we don't have a hundred anymore. We've wanted to adopt you since we found out about you. It's your choice." Anita broke her hug to look hopefully at him.

Carlos' chuckle turned into a smile, "Uh, is there any chance you could stay here until everything is sorted out with all the other Isle kids before I make my choice? I was serious about not letting them trade one Hell for another."

King Adam answered behind him "Of course they can stay, that is as soon as they call a dog sitter. Carlos, would you like me to show you where I put Chance?"

"Uh, yes. I think Belle can fill you in on everything the other kingdoms promised."

King Adam led the young man away, "Of course." At the door to the room, he asked "Need anything?"

"No. I got a headache but I think it's stress and I don't want to risk falling asleep until everyone is safe in Auradon."

"I'll have some fruit sent up, try to relax."

"I won't, not until I'm sure we didn't trade one Hell for another. I'm kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop, for their mission to fail or one of their host families to fall through. It's instinct and all of us have it, we can't believe that anything good comes free. Chance can scare them into not plotting anything and give you guys time to prove yourself but until he's awake and they're safe at least, I refuse to relax."

"Alright, just eat some fruit." Adam opened the door.

Carlos entered and spun around "No apples, I did live with Evil Queen so-"

"Of course."

Adam waved to a chair and left him alone with Chance. After asking a servant to bring fruit to Carlos' room, no apples, Adam met with his wife, son and the Fairy Godmother to review what Carlos had told them. Ben knew surprisingly little about life on the Isle, though he was polite not to push. Belle told them what information Carlos had shared with various royals while telling them what each family pledged to help the refugees. Fairy Godmother explained what Chance needs to wake up, theorizing the god-killer might play a role in Chance's variation on the classic curse. Adam told them what he'd overheard from Carlos' chat with the Radcliffes. Since the Charmings and Queen Leah volunteered the most immediate aid, their families would need to be informed first. Ben took care of spreading the word on everything after verifying what Carlos told the Radcliffes with Anita and Roger.

When the boat docked, they were welcomed by Chad and Audrey. Mal said "We need to get Excelsior here to Chance."

Audrey explained "That's actually why I'm here, since Carlos said you don't have any siblings I'm here to take Excelsior to his master while everyone else is here to meet the legacies their families will be hosting."

Mal sized Audrey up before nodding to herself, she turned to the cowardly man "You heard Audrey, she's here to take you to Chance."

"Master?" He followed Audrey to the waiting limo.

Chad Charming said "The rest of us are actually here to help wherever we can. If we could meet the kids our families are hosting, that'd be nice."

Mal turned to tell Jay to get the guys from the Isle who can help but he was gone. In a bored tone, Evie said "I think he's ahead of you on this one."

Mal turned to Evie, "Why don't you help Uma get in the water where she can replenish her strength and maybe help in her own way?"

Evie said "Right." She snapped her compact closed and headed off to organize the able bodied girls, Uma would be better in the water.

Mal climbed onto the dock and faced the crowd from Auradon Prep, "I want each of you to pair up with a boy from the Isle if you're going to board the boat. They loaded the sick, they know who's in worse shape. I'm going to clear the upper deck by levitating people out. Some people should wait in pairs at the end of the dock to take the people I move. Okay?" They all got in line by the boat, pairs at the shore end standing in pairs the width of the dock apart. Mal levitated people as carefully as possible into the waiting arms of the pairs who carefully rushed them to a cot. Thankfully most of the people above deck were asleep and stayed that way. Once clear of patients, Mal put everything else in piles before dumping them on the edge of the field hospital on shore. This cleared the way to unload the rest of the patients.

Jay had wasted no time arranging the able bodied boys to get the worst cases above deck. Even with Uma attempting to lessen the rocking, some already sick kids discovered they got sea sick. Jay paired boys off by height for balance. Everyone was willing to do whatever it took to get Auradon to fix their dying friends, some out of spite to make them see what they've done. The boys moved quickly. Soon, Evie was organizing the girls and trying to get Uma in the water. Above deck, some passed their loads to the Auradon kids, some were too protective. Mal was trying to organize the combined help. As soon as she could, she pulled Jay, Evie and Chad into a huddle. "Jay, assuming the more critical cases are already receiving priority treatment, pair the Isle boys with Chad's Auradon boys. Chad, if you know anything we should know, tell us as soon as everyone's been off loaded. Don't wait to tell Anthony first because Dizzy is sick and you'll just upset him if it applies to her. We'll decide what needs to be passed on and what can wait. Evie, I think the girls could help a lot more on shore unless they're Uma or have some way of helping the boys. We need to send everyone we can spare on unloading to shore. I'm going to check with one of the doctors to see where we stand on getting cleared then I'm gonna help set up supplies. Is everyone clear on what they're doing?" They nodded and broke away to do their tasks.

After everyone was unloaded, before anyone left, Chad told the three leading VKs "Carlos thinks that when Chance wakes, he'll stop holding back death on the Isle and all of your parents will die."

Mal nodded "Chad, that's a great morale booster, especially for the people sent here by their villain parents. Evie, Jay, we'll tell the ones in decent condition so they can tell any of their sick friends or family members. Chad, hang back and fill in the gaps. Let's make sure everyone knows there's no going back and soon no one to go back to."

Chad nodded "Right. Uh, once you're cleared, do you want to spend the night at my place with Anthony? If we can all stay medically cleared."

Evie said "Of course we'll come help your family adjust, you do want us there as a buffer, right?"

"Right." They executed the plan. The three Auradon VKs putting the elder Tremaine at ease on the ride to the castle.

Ben popped into Chance's room "Audrey's bringing Excelsior over now. Your friends are going to need to get a clean bill of health to leave Charmington, they're probably going to stay the night."

"Okay. Thanks." He was glad that the wait was coming to a close.

"The room next door is open to you if you want to leave Excelsior and Chance alone to get some sleep."

Figuring the royal family had compared noted, Carlos explained to Ben "As his familiar, Excelsior is like a pet to Chance. Guess I should tell you his full name, might make more sense for a son of the underworld god. His full name is Chance di Diablo, it means,"

"The Devil's Chance, clever just like Hades is said to be."

"Yeah. I'll take you up on that offer of a room as soon as Excelsior gets here to wake Chance up."

"Alright then. Tell Audrey her guest room is open if you see her." Ben ducked out to go to bed himself.

The ride from the docks of Charmington to Castle Beast was short. Audrey led Excelsior in, telling a guard "We're here for Chance."

As the door opened, Carlos set the God-killer Sword on Chance and put the sleeping man's hands around the hilt as the sword grew back from knife form. The first word out of Excelsior's mouth was "Master." Chance woke to the one word his familiar was allowed to say. He was only allowed to speak with Chance in private, in public he was to show proper deference. The cowardly man shuffled up to the dark haired boy as Carlos slipped out.

The white haired boy told the brunette "Ben said your guest room is waiting and that the room next door to this one is for me." Before Audrey could say anything, he confessed "I see why your grandmother hated Mal at first sight. Seeing Chance, the law of the Isle, so still scared me. He was the closest thing we had to a hero on the Isle but he's not related to me in any way so I can't imagine missing your daughter's childhood, getting her back only to lose her to the curse you originally let her go to avoid. I need to sleep, do you know which door is to the room Ben left open for me?" Audrey pointed and Carlos wished her goodnight.


	2. Transition

Everyone directly involved in the evacuation of children from the Isle slept in the following day. Excelsior slept in cat form, curled up beside his master's bed. Carlos came into their room once he woke up, waking the ever vigilant son of Hades who sat bolt upright "I was wondering if you wanted me to show you to the dining room."

Chance nodded "Lead the way." Excelsior followed his master down the steps.

Audrey caught them before they reached the intended room, "I couldn't stop thinking about what you said last night when I brought Excelsior to Chance."

Carlos chuckled nervously "Look, Audrey, I'm trying to show Chance to the dining room so he can iron out the details of everyone's status. I thought everyone would be having lunch at this time of day."

Audrey nodded and backed off "Of course. I just thought I'd tell you that I told my family what you said about the curse, and we're all sorry about what happened at Parents' Day."

Now walking beside her, Carlos said "I don't think we'll have parents once this is all over as I'm sure you've heard. Did Ben spread the word about what I told everyone last night?"

"Yes, he did. Since Mal, Jay and Evie don't have any siblings, the kingdoms their parents wronged are willing to take any extra children that were evacuated with the legacies."

"Alright, thanks Audrey." Pausing for a second, Carlos asked "Do you think you could help us organize the Isle kids in Auradon? There's a lot that needs to be done and having Ben's family help is great but I just want to be sure," He sighed before reiterating "Make sure what would've happened if Ben had your family host Mal doesn't happen now that the heroes have to host their villains' kids."

Audrey nodded "We're all willing to do whatever we can."

"Yeah, now." He sighed "It's in my nature not to trust anything good, and my childhood wasn't as bad as some of the others."

"I understand, not that I have any experience but I think I kinda understand."

"You're sympathetic not empathetic," the two Auradon Prep students turned to Chance. "Yeah, I heard every word. Mind introducing me around?"

Carlos said "Right, this is Audrey, daughter of Sleeping Beauty." He made the rounds, surprised by how many people were still in the capital.

King Adam offered his hand "It's great to see you doing better, Chance."

Chance shook his hand "Thanks. It's definitely gonna be an adjustment."

"Yeah but it's worth it," agreed Carlos. "Was I right to think that our parents are going to die now that you're awake and all of the legacies are off the Isle?"

Chance nervously admitted "Yeah you were. I think your friends to a fair share of kids who aren't legacies as well."

Carlos said "Just being heroes, I guess."

Chance nodded "I think you're right about that, just like you're right about death taking the Isle. It may take a week or so for everyone to die."

Carlos nodded before finding a seat across from Anita and Roger to eat. Chance sat next to him, the only legacy in the room. Belle baited Chance into a conversation about books with some help from Carlos. Excelsior perched on the back of his master's chair in raven form. Chance gave scraps to his familiar as he talked to Queen Belle. His real interest was in inventing but he was happy with any learning.

The Hooks arrived at Castle Beast as Queen Belle was giving Chance a tour, Harry asked "Is it true? About our parents?"

Chance confirmed "Yeah. In a week or so, they'll all be dead."

The twins froze, slowly they looked at each other then at Chance and back again before freezing completely. Neither were sure how they were supposed to react, happy, relieved, upset. Excelsior, still in raven form, cawed a few times, snapping them out of their daze. CJ asked "Can we meet Peter Pan?"

Chance looked at Belle before turning to the twins "Of course."

Carlos joined them "I heard the Hooks were here so I thought I'd bring Peter Pan to meet them."

The man in green smiled at the twins, CJ spoke first "You're the guy our father was obsessed with?"

Carlos decided to ask what he needed to ask before they got too deep in conversation, "Harry, do you still run things at Pirates' Bay? I mean, were you still running things before you came to Auradon?"

Harry and CJ both looked at him, Harry answered "Yeah, why?"

"Because I need your help to help the rest of the Isle kids you came with. If you're still running things then you can get others to let the doctors and medics help."

Harry nodded thoughtfully "What exactly do you need?"

"You need to convince the other to tell the doctors the truth. They need a full list of symptoms so they don't give their patients something that will hurt them. It's not showing weakness, it's gaining strength."

CJ answered for her brother "Done. We don't want the others to die."

"Okay. There is no Isle of the Lost to return to, there's just Auradon and adjusting. Let's keep up strength in numbers, even though we're gonna split up once we're all good. Different kingdoms have agreed to host different groups. You'll be hosted by Peter Pan, Anthony and Dizzy will be hosted by Queen Ella. Anyone without a hero to host them will be hosted by one of the kingdoms without legacies to host. I know Aladdin and Jasmine have already volunteered to give kids without a host kingdom a place in Agrabah, a few others have also offered."

Harry said "Sounds like you have everything in hand."

"Could always use help transitioning the rest of the legacies. Sleeping Beauty's daughter Audrey and King Beast's son Ben are both willing to help on this side, I was wondering if you could help on the other side."

CJ said "Of course we will, right Harry?"

"Right but first, we're gonna talk to-" he pointed to Peter Pan and the twins beat a hasty retreat.

Carlos left soon afterwards, Chance told the raven on his shoulder "Help Carlos. You can talk to him to help him, otherwise you know the rules." Excelsior flew away.

Queen Belle asked "What rules?"

"Excelsior is usually not allowed to talk to anyone but me after he once tried to put out a hit on me. Around other people, he's only allowed to say the one word unless I tell him otherwise."

Excelsior landed behind Carlos and changed form "My master told me to help you."

Carlos nodded "We need to get an accurate idea of what condition everyone's in. Who's alive? Who's sick? Who's neither?"

"I'm only allowed to talk to you to help."

"Okay then. Are you allowed to talk to me around others?"

"My orders are to help you, I'm allowed to talk to you to help you but otherwise the rules apply."

"Well I need you to talk to me if you have information to share when you're around others. So can you do it now?"

"Yes, I think so."

Carlos went to Aladdin and Jasmine "You are granting refugee status to kids non-legacies and willing to host Jay for the summer, right?" They nodded "I'm making rounds to confirm these things so Excelsior here can tell Chance and he can help convince the kids from the Isle to accept help."

Next, he found Queen Leah who was waiting for word "A lot of kids who aren't descendants of villains were evacuated, most of them were sick but some of them just helped load the boat. Would you be willing to consider granting non-legacies refugee status in your kingdom?"

Queen Leah told him "My granddaughter told me what you said about the curse, I didn't realize how bad things were on the Isle when I said all those horrible things to Mal."

"If this is an apology, you're telling the wrong person. Cruella was horrible to me but she never expected me to be like her, she expected me to serve her. Evil Queen did expect Evie to be like her, to bag a prince. Maleficent was always telling Mal that she wasn't evil enough, wasn't enough period. I don't need to hear your apology. For me, Parents' Day was only a disaster because you hurt my friends, the only people who cared about me. Are you willing to give children from the Isle refugee status? Unless Mal has a sibling I don't know about, you're under no obligation to host a legacy since Mal has a place here as Ben's girlfriend."

Queen Leah said "My kingdom would be honored to help children of the Isle by hosting."

"I'm making rounds. I'll give you an update on the children's condition when I have one. Come on, Excelsior." He continued his rounds, Excelsior giving him a report on who survived before meeting each hero after Queen Leah. Finally, he found himself facing King Adam "Gaston has a son named Gil, he's a member of Harry Hook's pirate gang and he's not too bright. Gil has two older brothers named for their father, maybe we could let some of the Isle kids change their names before we set them up with homes. Some might want to be rid of their parents' influence that way. Harry Hook has already decided to support us with the transition so Gil should be fine with the change. I'm not sure about his brothers. I have no idea what we're going to do with the dead kids."

King Adam put a hand on Carlos' shoulder "Calm down. I'm glad to hear you're recruiting people to help. We'll be glad to host Gaston's sons."

"Alright." Carlos turned around "Excelsior, I need you to ask Chance for permission to talk to Mal so you can act as a messenger between the two sides of this." The meek dark haired man nodded, turned and transformed into a raven as he left. Turning back to the king, Carlos said "Isle kids will need new clothes, ask the Hooks before they head back to get everyone who's not sick measured. Evie can design clothes they'll actually wear with the measurements."

King Adam nodded "Will do. I think Anita and Roger would love to get the chance to talk to you."

Carlos nodded "Any idea where they might be?"

"They're probably outside, they both love the outdoors." Carlos nodded and went off in search of his soon-to-be foster parents.

In the library, Excelsior landed on Chance's shoulder and cawed. Chance stood, excused himself from Queen Belle's presence and stepped into the hall "Get off me and talk."

"Carlos wants me to act as a messenger between the two sides of the transition. I need permission to speak with Mal on the shores of Charmington."

"You may speak to Mal as you may speak to Carlos. Be sure to be here at night."

"Yes master."

"Go, find Mal daughter of Maleficent." He returned to his spot in the library.

Queen Belle asked "What did Excelsior need?"

"Permission to speak to Mal so he can act as messenger between this side of the transition and the refugees side."

When Carlos saw the Hooks leaving, he ran over "Harry, CJ, did King Beast talk to you about getting a report on what the Isle kids will need from their hosts? I asked him to talk to you about getting measurements for clothes."

"We'll take care of it, Carlos." CJ said "I'm sure Gil will love to meet Belle. She is hosting Gaston's children, right?"

"That's the plan. I was thinking Evie could design the clothes since she knows what Isle kids and Auradon kids wear. Excelsior will be acting as a messenger, Chance gave permission to talk to me and Mal to help."

"So tell Mal anything we want to get back here? Okay."

"I stayed behind when my friends went to the Isle because I knew they'd be needed. Now I'm organizing all of this stuff because I stayed behind and told Auradon we can't do this alone. It's a lot of responsibility, way more than I've ever had before."

"Okay. Just try to relax before you collapse from stress."

"I'll try."

Harry turned around by the car "CJ, why don't you stay behind and help Carlos?"

"Will do, bro."

Carlos told CJ "Since you were on the boat, you could give the host families an idea of who they're hosting. Queen Leah, Sleeping Beauty's mother, has been waiting for a proper update. She's one of the oldest royals here."

"Consider it done." CJ went back into the palace and Carlos rejoined the Radcliffes. Queen Leah called a council meeting when CJ politely suggested getting everyone together for the update, she gave a headcount as best she could with her extremely limited education. In her own words "Give me a break, I was raised on a beached boat."

Dinner was interrupted by a couple of Isle kids. Emerging from the shadows, Chance boredly asked them "Did you get medically cleared?"

They spun around to face him,"Chance!" "The law of the Isle, here?"

"Yes, yes. Were you medically cleared?" Chance fingered his sword hilt, reminding them who he is.

The leader glared at him while a tan, blonde teen waved "Sup man."

Carlos came up to the blonde "Do you have a clue where you are?"

The blonde said "Nope."

"Follow me."

"Okay."

The leader turned his glare on the happy blonde "Stop."

Carlos pointed out the reigning royals to his friend "That's Belle."

The blonde looked to the two glaring black haired boys, "Sorry, bros. No can do." He drew his sword "You tried to trick me."

Carlos put an arm across his shoulder "Let Chance take care of them while you go introduce yourself."

Gil nodded, sheathing his sword and going over to the reigning royal family with Carlos following after Excelsior turned his aggressive brothers into black labradors. Gil was shifting nervously when Carlos caught up with the black dogs trailing him. The shorter teen introduced "King Adam, Queen Belle, Prince Ben, this is Gil, youngest son of Gaston."

Gil gave his friend a thankful smile then frowned "Where'd the dogs come from?"

Carlos said "They're your brothers, Chance changed them."

"I thought you were afraid of dogs."

"I was, until I came here and met my first dog Dude at Auradon Prep."

"So your mom lied,"

"A lot, not that surprising." Carlos shrugged "Before Harry left for Charmington today, King Adam said he'd be glad to host Gaston's son, you and your brothers didn't need to do this."

"Doesn't surprise me that they lied." Gil noticed everyone's eyes on him and shifted nervously.

King Adam told Gil "Please, sit with us. We'd like to get to know you, Gil."

Carlos nodded encouragingly, "Maybe you can slip your brothers some table scraps." He left the Beast and Gaston families to rejoin the Radcliffes, "Sorry about that. I really thought Harry and Mal would've told the others that they had host families set up here."

"It's alright, Carlos." Everyone settled down. Chance sat with another legacy, away from Hercules though the Greek hero wasn't taking the hint.

Gil ate like he was starving, which he might be. Prince Ben asked "Are you gonna give your brothers any?" Gil paused to push some onto the floor beside him for his brothers, "How old are you?"

"16, I think. My brothers are 18, like Anthony Tremaine."

Belle asked "What do you like to do?"

Gil shrugged "I'm good with anything. Having fun isn't really high on the priority list on the Isle, at least not when you're always a disappointment."

Adam asked "Did you join Harry's crew to get away from Gaston?"

"That and because Harry's my friend. Harry's one of the only legacies who overcame their parents. He'd have the head of anyone who went after CJ, not that I've ever tried but everyone knows she's off-limits."

Ben asked "What about you and your brothers?"

"What about it? I'm the disappointment, not even worthy of father's name. It's cool though, Harry's always been cool, Uma too." He stopped to look around "Ariel wouldn't happen to be around here somewhere, would she?"

Ben smiled "I can introduce you."

"I want to introduce her to Uma, since she'll be hosting Ursula's daughter."

Belle asked "What kind of education have you had?"

"I was a student at Dragon Hall, that's the school on the Isle but it's not really comparable to school here I'm sure."

Adam asked "How so?"

"Dragon Hall is supposed to make us better villains than our parents, I doubt you have a class on evil scheming at Auradon Prep."

Ben said "We have a remedial goodness class for villain kids here."

Gil looked between the family before smirking "No one explained what a legacy is, have they?"

Ben answered "We were told it's a descendant of a villain not just their kids."

"That is true but it's also not. A legacy is a descendant of a hero or villain, based on the belief that we'll take after and surpass the previous generation. You and I are both legacies. I'm a legacy of Gaston and you're a legacy of Beast, or Belle depending on how you see that story." That was an interesting concept to the table.

Belle asked "Did Dragon Hall teach you to read and write?"

"Yeah. Oh, you were asking because of CJ's lack of an education. Yeah, a lot of kids don't go to school. Independent legacies like the Hooks don't have to, they don't have their parents making them. Plenty of non-legacies just can't afford it." Gil smiled, slipping his brothers more food. "Do you have any idea if they'll change back?"

Adam shook his head "You'd need to either ask Chance or someone who knows magic."

"I'll ask Chance later." Gil coughed, blood hitting his hand "Okay so maybe we didn't get medically cleared. I didn't know we needed to."

Spotting blood on the boy's hand, King Adam stood "Come on, let's have a doctor take a look at you."

Gil stood "I thought all the doctors were treating the little kids from the Isle."

"Well, most of them are but each kingdom has a handful of doctors staying within their borders. Only a handful of nurses from each kingdom were sent to the hospital on Charmington's shores. Come on, we have a doctor here to check the villain legacies over and build a medical file before they leave with their host families."

Gil sat down where King Adam gestured to in the small room and a dark haired young man hurried in soon after they arrived. "Hello, I'm Dr. Drake. You are,"

"Gil."

"Got a last name Gil?"

"Nope, I'm a son of Gaston if that helps."

"That it does. You're here for a check up."

"I think I caught the plague that's going around the Isle." Dr. Drake looked up at him and Gil explained "They said it was infecting the youngest first so I thought I was safe to help unload the ship and run errands for the doctors once Harry Hook said they were to be trusted. I thought I was too old to catch it. Anthony Tremaine is only two years older than me, he didn't catch it from doing the same thing and helping his cousin Dizzy. I was cleared last night before I went to sleep in the village with everyone else who was cleared."

Dr. Drake began his exam "You could've caught it today or perhaps the plague needed to incubate, that means the plague took time to take effect."

"I'm coughing up blood but that just started." Gil shut up, eying King Adam who took the hint and left.

Carlos caught the king and queen winding down before bed "How's Gil? Do you think the twins will be sick when they change back?"

King Adam said "Gil is going to be fine, we may have caught it early. As for his brothers, it's hard to say. I'd like to hold a council meeting tomorrow to discuss effective aid and I want you to attend. You know the patients better than we do, you'll be able to give at least some information on how to handle transfers into other kingdoms."

"Okay. I'll go." Carlos followed Adam into the meeting the next day, he stood back as the king started with an update he received from Chance at breakfast and explained the purpose of the meeting before giving Carlos the floor. "Uh, okay. So if the legacies have a relative, no matter what condition they're in, you move them together. Defer to Harry Hook on the rest, he should know who is close to who. Splitting up Isle kids who are close is a bad idea. Gaston's son Gil and Ursula's daughter Uma are close to Harry and CJ Hook. Gil considers Harry his best friend and Uma is Harry's girlfriend. That's the kind of close I mean, dating or close friends. Defer to Harry on who needs to come with the patient." Carlos answered questions as they were directed at him before King Adam led the council in planning. They couldn't keep the sick out in the open through the night.

Carlos made sure to spend time with the Radcliffes each day, progress was slow but it was there. The villains were all dead before the younger Isle kids recovered. Ella had Dizzy moved into the palace for the end of her treatment. The young stylist found her aunt to be anything but what she'd been told. Harry Hook knew the various crews of the Isle like the back of his hand, which helped not only transferring the sick but also placing them as refugees in open kingdoms. Host families had to get the Harry Hook seal of approval, which Carlos knew meant they were in good hands.


	3. Families

Once everyone was recovered, King Adam hosted a Families Day at Castle Beast.

Carlos joined the rest of the core four for the first time since Chance collapsed on the ballroom floor, "Hey guys. Have you found host families?"

Mal said "I have a standing invitation to Castle Beast so I think I'm good."

"Gil got that too, the Gaston twins need some behavioural training before they'll be allowed to attend school. What about you, Evie?"

"I'm hoping Snow White will host me."

Jay answered "Same with Aladdin and Jasmine."

Carlos smiled "Jay, Evie, follow me and I'll introduce you to them. Mal, Ben and Audrey are also doing introductions to host families." He took his friends hands and pulled them on their way. "Aladdin, Jasmine, Jay."

Aladdin smiled at the younger man "You'll love Agrabah, just no stealing or you might get your head cut off."

"Alright."

Carlos left them to talk and guided Evie to her host family "Snow, Ferdinand, Sean, Sarah, this is Evie."

Snow identified "My stepsister."

Carlos left them to continue making introductions and pointing out host kingdoms for the crews of non-legacies. As he finished, he spotted a familiar furry face "Dude!" Carlos crouched down to catch the little furball.

As he stood up with Dude licking his face, he heard Chance's voice from behind "I'm not going to Greece."

Carlos turned to face the other legacy "Okay. Follow me." He led the dark haired teen to Sleeping Beauty's family "Queen Leah, Princess Aurora, Prince Philip, Princess Audrey, Chance was wondering if someone other than Hercules would host him. Since Mal has a standing invitation at Castle Beast, I was thinking maybe you could host the Isle's hero."

Queen Leah said "Of course."

Carlos looked between them "Great. I'm gonna talk to the Radcliffes, my foster parents." The celebration went surprisingly well until Carlos noticed people crowding around the royal family of Auroria and Peter Pan floating archers up to the tower. Smiling, he told his foster parents "Chance is about to duel. Isle rules are every man for himself so if they manage to take him out then they'll fight each other. Wanna watch?" Carlos climbed onto the table "Mulan is going to referee it looks like, she's giving him her sword so he doesn't have an unfair advantage." He jumped off the table and ran to the inner edge of the crowd, starting the chant as Chance took out his first opponent "De-vil's Chance."

Mal informed Ben "It's okay to call him that when he's fighting," before continuing the chant. Chance won the fight, ending it by throwing a sword past the archers to eliminate them.

Afterwards, a raven-haired teen cane over to Mal "I'm sorry we couldn't get to you."

Mal asked "Who are you?"

"I'm your twin brother Malice, Anthony Tremaine and I have worked hard to steal kids from villains before they could be trapped into the life you and the others got stuck in." He pulled out a vial and chugged the liquid inside "Counteracts a potion I was given as a toddler to hide from Maleficent."

"Okay."

He grabbed her wrist and stared into her eyes, both sets flashing green. When he let go, he explained "Twin-link, we're bonded in a way that's impossible to fake."

"Uh,"

"Maleficent Morgana le Fay the Second, I am your twin brother Malice Mordred le Fay."

Ben asked "Is that really your name?"

"Uh, yes. Technically but,"

Malice explained for her "Our mother held the right to her full first name over her, telling everyone her name was just Mal. For all I know, Maleficent lied to her daughter about her full name."

"Oh," Ben said.

Malice observed "You have a bit of magic in you, you'll need it to be accepted by the Heir to the Fae's beloved. Though fair warning, don't expect to gain anything if my sister's queen when you're married, you're still mostly human without innate magic."

Mal said "That's enough."

Malice gave Ben an appraising look "IInformation overload, if you're the next High King, you need to learn not to show when you're overwhelmed."

Mal sighed "Let's just get through Families' Day." She turned to the reigning royals "Does my invitation extend to my twin brother?"

Belle said "Of course, dear."


	4. Excelsior

Waking up, Chance took his first proper look at his room. He would've preferred to share a bed with Excelsior rather than be on opposite sides of the room but he could ask about customizing his room later. Looking around, he noticed that the thick curtains were closed. "Excelsior, open the curtains." His familiar obeyed as always before kneeling in front of him "Unpack our bags." The meek man carefully organized his master's dresser and put his own bag in the top drawer of the other dresser. Kneeling in front of his master as the door opened.

Audrey froze at the sight, Chance stood "Good morning."

"Morning."

Chance made a lifting gesture and Excelsior stood, moving to take his place behind his master "Need anything, Audrey?"

"I was just going to give you two a tour."

"Lead the way." Chance followed her around Castle Beauty, taking note of different places. Excelsior spent over half the tour in cat form.

Finally Audrey asked "Do you respect Excelsior at all?"

"He's my familiar, like Diaval is to Maleficent. A familiar is an animal companion that balances a magic user for stability. Maleficent and I both grant our familiars the ability to shapeshift. In Diaval's case, Maleficent controls what form he can take. Excelsior has a human form because I gave him one, his clothes are a quirk of that. Diaval was born a raven, Excelsior was spawned as my familiar. I respect him enough to consider him more than an object to keep me stable, more than a medical instrument. I just don't respect him as an equal because last time I did that, he nearly had me killed."

"Oh. Did you know they say you're the closest thing to a hero on the Isle?"

"I kept the law in a land of villains." Realizing he was being monotone, Chance asked "Can we get something to eat? I can go a long time without eating but I doubt I need to here."

Audrey said "Of course." She took him to a study, "I'll have Emma bring you some food, we'd like to see where you are academically. Auradon Prep is undergoing expansion to accommodate legacies from the Isle." Chance nodded "My mom offered to proctor your test, a few queens are proctoring the tests for their wards and foster children. Our kingdom was expecting to host crews of Isle kids so the schools are giving everyone placement tests. If anyone's a genius, they'll skip a few grades."

"Okay. Proctor means she's giving me the test. Is Excelsior attending Auradon Prep or is he to stay in animal form?"

Aurora answered as she entered "I think Fairy Godmother has final say in that. I'm not entirely clear on what would be appropriate for a familiar."

Chance stood and smiled, Excelsior jumping off his lap "Excelsior doesn't actually have clothes so the dresser and donations are a bit much. What looks like clothes is actually a quirk of how he shapeshifts into human form. As my familiar, I'm used to him sleeping in animal form very close by. Either curled up in cat form or standing on my bed frame but the extra bed is appreciated and I can't wait to see what Fairy Godmother finds when she evaluates us. I'm pretty sure I'm on the edge of overload."

Audrey echoed "Overload?"

"I grew up behind a magic blocking barrier. While I also grew up with my familiar, my power was seriously limited. I don't think my body is accustomed to handling so much power. I didn't grow up with it so my body didn't develop to accommodate it. Excelsior's keeping me stable but it's still taking toll. Maybe someone with experience in magic can help Excelsior provide balance."

Audrey said "I'll call Fairy Godmother and ask Emma to bring food."

Chance stopped her at the door then stepped back "Uh, nevermind I don't know how to say it."

Looking at the cat on the floor, he held out his hand "Excelsior."

The cat transformed into a man "Thank you. Princess Audrey, Chance needs a lot of food because his powers are burning through energy faster without his magic limited. Perhaps it would be better to move into the dining room."

Chance nodded, Excelsior looked at him pleadingly "Go on, say whatever else you find necessary."

Excelsior nodded and looked at Audrey "Normally, one of us eats and we share energy. I don't think we should do that anymore, at least unless your fae friend says it's fine." His meek demeanor returned.

Audrey turned to Chance "Follow me, I'll show you into the dining room and ask the kitchen staff to give you lots of leftovers to start with."

Aurora said "I'll ask Fairy Godmother to join us while you're doing that."

Excelsior turned back into a cat and rubbed up against his master's leg, silently asking for permission. Chance looked down at him and he looked at Aurora "You have five minutes then head to the dining room."

Chance followed Audrey out and Excelsior retook his human form. Turning to Aurora, he quickly explained "If Chance doesn't get help, he could crash. A son of Hades crashing after an island is wiped out could spell death, I need to catch up with my master." Excelsior took his bird form to chase after Chance, wondering how much trouble he'd be in for using his master's first name multiple times.

Aurora invited Fairy Godmother over for an urgent matter, the word urgent driving the fairy to teleport into the room. She quickly explained what Chance and Excelsior described as well as the changes in the way Chance spoke that would indicate moods shifts without any trigger. The fairy walked with Aurora to the dining room where she told Chance "I'm going to perform a few magic tests on you and Excelsior, I'll warn you if a test is going to make you feel anything outside of a magical reaction." She ran her tests before asking "Is there anything Excelsior does a lot in this form? Like kneeling? Something he does without you having to order him to."

Chance nodded "He kneels to await orders. That's normal for a familiar with a human form, right?"

"Yes. Familiars are usually rather affectionate towards their masters when they don't have a human form. In human form, they typically act just like Excelsior acts, with deference and obedience. Familiars are very obedient by nature, normally they develop strong loyalty to their masters."

"Okay." Excelsior was kneeling in front of his chair as he knelt in front of him in their room. "Now what?"

"However you express approval or reward him for good work, make that gesture then I can adjust your bond to accommodate your power growth."

Chance put one hand on Excelsior's shoulder and used the other to pet his hair, looking away like he usually did on the Isle when he wasn't paying attention making the gesture thoughtless. The relief when Fairy Godmother shifted their bond made Chance's shoulders sag and the petting more enthusiastic. Excelsior soaked it up but once Fairy Godmother was left the room, his master stopped and pointed to his chair. They resumed eating, Excelsior worrying about how much trouble he'd be in later. Fairy Godmother and Princess Aurora returned without Audrey. The headmistress said "I would recommend keeping Excelsior as close as possible for the next week. If you're used to him sleeping in animal form on or near your bed, have him do that. However, I'd withhold any discipline until after the week is over because it could backfire and hurt you." Excelsior couldn't help the whimper that escaped. He'd have to wait a week to feel his master's wrath, a week for his errors to stack up. Chance was nodding along. "I'd like you both to attend Auradon Prep as students so you'll both need to take the placement test. Do not use your bond to cheat. You'll be roommates at the school but,"

Chance cut in "I'd like to room with my sister, Hadie since our powers will be similar and I'd like to help her adjust. I can't see anyone, nevermind. Can you make sure Hadie rooms with Dr. Facilier's legacy? Voodoo is closest to our abilities."

Fairy Godmother smiled "I will make a note of it as soon as I get back to the school. I'm planning on adding a few classes to help with the adjustment for magic based legacies who will be having gifts awakening, you just reminded me of that."

Chance said "I think I'm seeing souls sometimes when I look at people, I'm also naturally able to say someone's name even if I've never met them too. Is that just part of being Hades' son?"

"Yes, it's partly due to your pure blood. You are in fact a young god, the rumors on the Isle appear to be true based on the strength of your magic."

"Thank you for telling me. Is there anything I need to know except keep Excelsior extra close for a week and refrain from punishing him for that time?"

"I want you to gradually get used to distancing yourself from him at night. Dorms have separate beds and since you'll be roommates, Excelsior will have one of his own."

Chance looked at his familiar, "Probably a good time for this." He held out his hand "Excelsior." The man began to age backwards, his clothes shifting with him until he was close to Chance's age in a clean orange shirt. Looking at Fairy Godmother, he explained "Diaval was the only familiar I knew of, Excelsior's human form turned out as a mix of me and the raven because of that."

"Oh, I see. This form will be much less distracting for the other students than an adult classmate."

"That's the idea."

"Thank you, Chance."

Chance frowned "Fairies aren't supposed to have that-" he cut himself off "How old are you?"

Fairy Godmother scolded "That's not nice to ask a lady."

Chance sighed "Ever heard the saying everyone has their time? I think I can see yours but I have some idea about how long lived fairies are so I want to check if it fits your natural lifespan or if it's telling me you have cancer."

"Oh," after a moment "Oh, I see. You can't tell me what it says because that would disrupt the natural balance of life and death."

"I can tell you that Diaval is alive and if either of Maleficent's oldest twins say his name, they'll summon him. You should get a check up to see, sounds like you didn't expect the news your clock was running short. Just to be clear, it's short for a fairy."

Fairy Godmother nodded "I understand. I should go check on the twins."

Chance nodded and waited for her to leave before giving his familiar a calculating look. He made his decision as they finished eating their spread. They took their placement tests, Chance shielding his mind and leaving Excelsior to struggle through as he quickly completed each grade level. Princess Aurora helped Excelsior with the reading, making a note on her proctor sheet that Excelsior will need special help with his language skills. Aurora would fill the rest of her sheet with their scores, writing in Chance's note section that the school should hold off on sports until he shows an interest. Everyone at Families' Day heard Chance was an undefeated swordsman, she didn't want him being pressured into doing something because he's good at it again after the Isle. Aurora gave Chance advanced tests while Excelsior took the more basic tests. After testing, Chance said "I was thinking that it might be a good idea to get Excelsior a collar for his animal forms. This way if he turns into a dog then he won't be taken to the Radcliffes since I need him relatively close by at all times. I understand our test results determine our schedule so we're probably going to have different classes since he struggles with reading and I don't."

"Maybe that would be a good idea for school."

"He's my familiar so I want to try things out while our bond is making me extra sensitive to him. Fairy Godmother said it'd take about a week for the bond to settle back to normal so if I'm going to try things, there's no time like the present."

"You want to go shopping to pick out things for both of you now rather than wait for the school year to start?"

"Exactly."

"You should ask Philip to take you, he knows what boys need for school."

"Good idea."

"Just try to keep his shapeshifting to a minimum in the pet supply area."

"Understood."

"And get him clothes for school. I understand his current clothes come from shapeshifting but maybe he should get used to human form, he'll need to stay in that form for school and thus, he'll need clothes."

With a nod, Chance led Excelsior out of the study. They walked around the palace until he found someone moving with purpose "Do you know where Prince Philip is?"

"Try the stables."

The son of Hades went to the big wooden structure with hay on the ground, "Prince Philip?"

The prince told him "You can drop the titles, you're family now."

"Okay, Aurora said to ask you to take us to get supplies for school. Excelsior is going to be my roommate and his current clothes are just a quirk of his shapeshifting. I also want to get a collar for his animal forms so he doesn't get mistaken for a stray or wild animal." To prove his point, Excelsior turned into a black stallion. "See?"

Philip watched Excelsior change back "You'll also need school supplies, let's go." Chance was surprised how simple that was and how accommodating the family was to his strange companion. At the mall, Philip said "Let's do the pet store last. Any idea if different forms have different sizes."

"Aside from the obvious bird and horse are different, no. I don't plan on getting reins for my familiar anytime soon either."

Philip chuckled "Makes sense. You've never needed to get supplies for him before."

"Just be glad he's one of those familiars that have a human form. As I understand it, animal only familiars are normal. Fairy Godmother explained that familiars are naturally obedient and they develop strong loyalty to their masters."

In the pet store at the end of their journey, Chance said "Cat, dog and bird are his favorite animal forms so they're the only ones that matter. He can practice others only when I'm around." Each form was a different size and his master let his hands linger, using the bond to feel what Excelsior felt. Bird form didn't get a collar but he did measure for one, explaining to Philip "He's unlikely to get caught in this form and birds shed feathers. I'd like to give him the option to move unsupervised in animal form at Auradon Prep but I want to try out the collars while our bond is most sensitive so I can sense any problems. Fairy Godmother adjusted our bond to accommodate the increase in my power from the lack of a barrier." Philip was very understanding.

At home, Chance teleported their bags to their room and ran upstairs with Excelsior on his heels in cat form sporting the new collar. In their room, he locked the door. "Excelsior," his familiar changed form. Philip had bought a few toys and things for Excelsior to play in animal form. "You know what to do."

Chance waved his hand and set up a corner of the room as a playscape for Excelsior in pet form. He laid down on his bed to wait for Excelsior. The other dark haired young man flitted about the room putting things away and filling their school bags. Philip insisted Excelsior pick out things for Excelsior and when Chance agreed, his familiar had fun getting a choice. Once finished, Excelsior knelt beside his master. Chance patted the bed beside him, "Come here." Excelsior jumped over his master in dog form and a collar was secured to his neck as his reward "Get used to collars in cat and dog form."

Chance unlocked the door and followed a servant down to dinner with Excelsior in dog form beside him. He pocketed the collar halfway through the meal, allowing his familiar to sit with them in human form and eat. After dinner, they took turns showering and Chance had Excelsior sleep in cat form. The week wasn't too bad but Excelsior was wary, knowing what was keeping his master from expressing displeasure. Chance had Excelsior spend all of his time in their room as collared animals, he enjoyed his kitty corner. Over the week they had to stay close, they spent most of their time in their room.

After the week was over, Chance let him walk around in human form. Tentatively, his master let him go off on his own. He always knelt next to his master when he returned in human form. He always waited for his master to acknowledge him, to give him an order or wave him away. His master made him maintain their room. He spent some nights beside his master's bed, they were working on distance. When Chance realized sleeping in his own bed was almost a punishment for his familiar, he asked Audrey "Are our beds closer together at school? Excelsior and I are gonna be roommates there too. Fairy Godmother said to get used to sleeping in separate beds with Excelsior in human form because he's going to have his own bed there. I don't want to mess up all our progress by moving the beds closer together if they're like that at school."

Audrey said "Breathe and let me see your room." She stood between the beds, closer to Excelsior's bed than his master's "Move his bed here and yours here." In a few steps, she was over by Chance's bed, gesturing with her arms "Put them at an opposite angles with yours this way and his that way then push the straight back against the wall." Chance waved his hand and it was done. "Now your beds are the way they are at Auradon Prep."

Chance told her "Thanks. Proximity is like an invisible safety blanket for us. Apparently we're close to the same age, Excelsior might be a little younger but I'm younger than you. I mean age hardly matters in the grand scheme of things. Hades was the first born son of Kronos and Rhea, Zeus was the last born child of the Titan king and queen yet Zeus is treated as the oldest Greek god." Audrey nodded, made her escape and told her parents what Chance said about the Greek deities.

That night, when Excelsior came to kneel beside Chance's bed before dinner, his master asked "Do you love me?"

"I love you, master."

"I moved our beds more to be closer like the beds in our dorms will be, because I love you too Excelsior." Chance hadn't expressed real affection for his familiar since he was a little boy and Excelsior was all he had.

After Chance took his shower, he thrust a pair of pajamas into Excelsior's hands to replace his familiar's choice. One thing familiars never do is disobey the masters they have great loyalty towards. When Excelsior came out, Chance told him "Don't change tomorrow unless I tell you to. Let's try this bed arrangement out." Excelsior nodded.

The next morning, Excelsior knelt next to his master's bed waiting to see if he'd be allowed to change. Chance said "Stay," before going down to breakfast. He ate a little more than normal for Excelsior.

Sitting on his bed, Chance told his companion "I will tell you at Auradon Prep how things will work there and not a minute sooner, my familiar. You may change for the day before I collar you in cat form." Chance treated Excelsior awfully on the Isle but he was trying to be better now.

Sitting down with Aurora while Excelsior enjoyed his kitty corner, he explained his concerns regarding his father's post now being vacant and the way in which Hades came about to fill it in the first place. He would not allow his sister to be used to replace their father, Hayley deserved the world not the Underworld. Aurora brought Chance's concerns to her mother, who brought them to the Auradonian Council, who banded together to protect VKs from being used by their host families.

Queen Leah asked Chance to borrow Excelsior to ensure that important items are delivered with haste, Chance agreed on the condition his letter to Hayley be included in the documents. Excelsior was fully capable of teleportation with proper nutrition fueling him so Chance told Leah to feed his familiar before each delivery for best results. The strongest legacies must help the rest, Chance's legend makes him the strongest legacy alive.


End file.
